Some of our kiddos are EXTREMELY hard on themselves when they think they can't do something (whether it be writing a particular letter, catching a ball, etc.) Most of the time, it's their FIRST attempt at a certain thing. They communicate to me how discouraged, angry, and frustrated they become.

I do my best and tell them of my own experiences and to encourage them to do their best, never give up, and the power of YET. I think this video captures it well :)

When a Pre-K class in Connecticut heard about the Lilac Fires, they wanted to do something kind for the kiddos who were affected. They reached out to our school sending handwritten letters of comfort and 200+ bears to all the TK/Kinder classes.

This extremely thoughtful and generous act of kindness warmed our hearts. In return, we wrote “Thank You” notes and sent Kindness CD’s back showing our gratitude and appreciation.

This just goes to show that kindness and love make the world go around. Keep sending ripples of kindness because it will continue to spread from near and afar.

My TK kiddos and I compiled "Sunshine Smiles and Heartfelt Hugs" notes to a fellow colleague in our district (with the help of our TK 5th grade helpers.) I contacted the high school principal, and she said they were having an event for him and that she would give him our letters :)

Dominic Svatos, First Lieutenant, USMC, ret. and advanced math and statistics teacher at Bonsall High School was involved in a motorcycle accident on West Lilac Road, after leaving school on Friday, September 1st.

Mr. Svatos suffered extensive facial injuries, and a broken jaw and fractured femur, and required several surgeries. He was in the ICU for an extended period of time, and is currently working to recover at a rehabilitation center. His road back will be a long and painful process.

To follow up this story, I received a "Thank You" note from Mr. Svatos yesterday, thanking us for our "Get Well" booklet! How thoughtful of him. This is such a good lesson for our TK kiddos to know that an act of kindness sometimes does not go unnoticed. We create a ripple effect of giving in hopes others will do the same. We give without expecting anything in return, and something as simple as a note can make a world of difference :)

P.S. Thank you to the principal, Mrs. Lee Fleming, for delivering the book to Mr. Svatos and for her kind e-mail. It's the little acts of kindness that can go a long way and continue to make a ripple of kindness.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."-AesopI invite you to spread the kindness, love, and smile :)

This is my friend from 3rd grade, Jillian Baker. She has a disease (that you can read about if you click the link above) that has her in and out of the hospital, leaving her in immense pain constantly throughout the day making it hard for her to move, eat, sleep, etc. She bruises easily, blisters, and--yet--I have never heard her complain. Instead, she ALWAYS has kept a positive attitude, shining light and love on everyone she encounters <3

My kiddos and I have been having discussions about kindness, empathy, and compassion. I thought it would be a great idea if we wrote my friend "hap-bee" notes since she has been in and out of the hospital lately...just a little something to cheer her up. She has ALWAYS been supportive of my dream to become a teacher, always donating to the class, sending notes to our kiddos, and being our #1 fan :)

I was touched at how thoughtful and creative our kiddos were in taking their time to make their pictures meaningful and detailed for Jill.

I went to visit her this weekend, and she was overjoyed with happiness to see all the kiddos' notes. We sure do have kind kiddos that I hope inspire others to be the same <3

Wishing Parker a Happy Birthday on Saturday, September 16. Let's celebrate what a precious, sweet, and loving kiddo he was. Forever my TK kiddo. My heart goes out to the Landis family <3 hopeforparker.com

Just wanted to share a letter I wrote to one of the "Kinder Babes", my colleague and wonderful lady, Mrs. Colette Blackham. She is retiring this year and has been an inspiration to many. Some of your older children might have had the pleasure of having her as a kinder teacher. She will be greatly missed, and we wish her the happiest journey on her next chapter of life :)

The end is almost near! Ah, such a bittersweet moment. I have truly enjoyed getting to know you all, and thank you for an amazing year! No goodbyes though. We still have a week of joy and fun to be celebrated...and learning :)

Just a friendly reminder that there is NO SCHOOL Monday. Relax, and have a wonderful, restful weekend!

ALSO, our TK performance will be next Thursday, June 1 at 10am. Doors will open at 9:45. If you cannot make it but would like to see their sight word performance, we will be having rehearsals in Room 309 at 8:45 on Tuesday and Wednesday. You are more than welcome to join!

Thank you for everyone who has taken the time to fill the survey out, and write your thoughtful and insightful comments. It means the world to me, and I'm glad you and your child have had a great time in TK. I have, too, and it is a dream come true to be here :)

Tell your kiddos to rest up this weekend because we have a fun-filled last week of school! Stay healthy (and I'll do my best to do the same!) :)

Just a friendly reminder that Open House is tonight from 5:30-6:30pm. Since some of you had concerns making it at 5:30pm for the performance, we will be singing our Sight Word songs around 5:40-5:45pm (to make sure you get here safely as I know parking might be crowded.) Looking forward to seeing you soon :)

Hope this message finds you well! We're into our last days of TK! Bittersweet :)

Here's the latest scoop:SPRING PICTURESPlease return payment by May 2 if you would like to purchase the pictures.

FREE MOVIE NIGHT, FRIDAY, April 28, 6pm, MPR: TROLLSPTA will be hosting a movie night this Friday, April 28 at 6pm in the MPR featuring TROLLS. Bring family, friends, chairs, and blankets. Refreshments will be served :)

OPEN HOUSE, THURSDAY, MAY 4, 5:30-6:30pmWe will be having Open House next Thursday, May 4 from 5:30-6:30pm. This is a time to bring family and friends to Room 309, so our kiddos can show you all the awesome things that we do :)

The kiddos also wanted to perform Part I of their Sight Word songs. Please fill it out the flyer sent home, or email me back letting me know if you will be able to make it to the performance (so I know about how many kiddos to expect for our performance.)

If you cannot make the performance, NO WORRIES. You are welcome to come anytime from 5:30-6:30pm to check out our classroom. The performance will start at 5:30pm if your child wishes to participate. They LOVE singing these songs, so it would be awesome if you could see!

DONATIONS APPRECIATED :)Thank you for all of your support this year. It is greatly appreciated! As the year comes to an end, we are almost out of kleenex and hand sanitizer. With so many kiddos this year being ill, we want to make sure we have enough to last for the remainder of the month to stay healthy. Thank you :)

NEED:* kleenex* hand sanitizer

RECYCLED ITEMS:* egg cartons* toilet paper rolls* kleenex boxes

SPRING CLEANING ITEMS:* If you were like me and did some "spring cleaning" over break, and you have any items you aren't quite sure what to do with (clothes, odds and ends, etc.), feel free to send them to school with your child. I am always looking for recycled items to use for future projects and would be glad to take them off your hands. If I can't find a home for them myself, I will find a place for them. Thanks :)

Thanks again for all of your continuous support, love, and care for/towards your child/child's education. It has truly been a pleasure, and I feel bittersweet to have it come to an end. But, we're not done yet! Let's make this last month an unforgettable, great time for all of us!

Just wanted to attach a couple flyers for this weekend's events. There will be a Fallbrook clean-up and Avocado festival if you are interested. I am also providing a link for an art contest from "Life is Good." It looks like fun (I wish I could enter) hehe :)

Enjoy the rest of your break, and see you on time and ready to learn on Monday!

Just a friendly reminder that our Trek 4 Tech Fun Run is:TOMORROW, APRIL 5 starting at 8:30am out at the track.

We will be heading out to the track shortly after the bell rings to stretch, pictures, etc.

Some IMPORTANT reminders for the kiddos:1, Wear CLOSED-TOED SHOES2. Wear comfortable clothes (BONSALL BLUE if you can) :)3. Eat a nutritious breakfast4. HAVE FUN :D

If you haven't already registered to raise donations, it's not too late:

To raise money, students can register for FREE online at: www.thegetmovincrew.com.All you have to do is click on the link above, and follow the easy steps!

Thank you for all your support in your child's education. It will be a fun day tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Sunshine Smiles,Miss Fiscus

P.S. Thank you for those who are donating to SPREAD THE LOVE. Remember, we are collecting donations of new blankets, toiletries, Bonsall Bear Wear and non-perishable food items.Your generous hearts are greatly appreciated :)

"The Fun Run Trek 4 Tech" will take place on:Wed, April 5. TK will be running at 8:30am.

Students can register for FREE online at: www.thegetmovincrew.com.If we get 100% of our TK kiddos registered, we get a special surprise!

All you have to do is click on the link above, and follow the easy steps!

Spread the LoveSpread the Love is dear to my heart as some of my former TK kiddos are part of the Brownie Troops who work hard on making posters and spreading love & kindness to those in need and to our community. Proud of them and the contribution they are making in the community, and proud of our own TK class for displaying acts of kindness everyday <3

They will be collecting DAILY between March 27-April 7. You may drop-off items with volunteers before/after school outside the main gate, in the green bin located in the office daily, OR you can have your TK kiddo bring it to our class, and I would be more than willing to drop it off, too :)

Another week has come and gone. We are almost in February! Hope your New Year is off to a great start :)

Here's a little recap of what's been going on...

Kindness ChallengeThis week we participated in the Kindness Challenge. Thank you to those students who did their kindness acts at home, too :) Posted on Shutterfly are examples of how our class demonstrated kindness acts such as:

1. Inviting a new friend to play.2. Smile at 25 people.3. Make a wish for a child in another country.4. Give your friend a high five.5. Compliment 5 people.6. Be kind to yourself, and eat a healthy snack.7. Decorate 5 hearts and give them to friends.8. Entertain someone with a happy dance.9. Lend a pencil to a friend.10. Help someone up if they fall down.11. Thank someone who has helped you.12. Create your own kind deed.

We had fun recreating these kindness acts and showing Rule #5 in our classroom everyday: Be kind to myself and others <3

Chinese New YearTomorrow starts the beginning of Chinese New Year. We have been learning about the history of it and learned it is celebrated for 15 days. We learned about the dragon who was feared until the townspeople learned what scared the dragon, Nian: loud noises like firecrackers, the color red, and fire. The kiddos also learned about the different zodiacs and foods they ate. They brought home a Chinese packet that told about this as well as watched a video that I've included the link on our TK website below. It is a great, short clip that talks about the history :) We also made lanterns and dragon masks earlier this week. The kiddos wanted to take the lanterns home, but we thought it would be neat to hang up in the class! Pictures can be found on Shutterfly though :)

Tomorrow, there is a Lunar festival in Riverside if you are interested. If you go, maybe I'll see you there! My family and I will be there. If you didn't know, Miss Fiscus is half-Chinese :)

The kiddos also learned that "Gong Hey Fat Choi" means Happy New Year, and to say hello is "Ni Hao." Try testing them to see if they remember ;)

Prompting questions to ask your child about Chinese New Year.1. What was the dragon's name, and what did he fear (what scared him?)2. How do you say "Happy New Year" and "Hello" in Chinese?

Water CycleMiss Ali came in and taught the kiddos a little about the water cycle with a cool demonstration of rain! Thanks, Miss Ali :) Pictures can be found on Shutterfly. They learned about evaporation (water rising), condensation (cloud forming), and precipitation (water falling.) We put hand motions to them in our Morning Stretches. See if they can show you :)

Prompting question to ask your child: 1. What is the water cycle? (hint: Morning stretches; may need to prompt them by starting the word, definition, etc)

highlighted in blue:Answers to these questions that you can ask your child.

ShutterflyNew pictures from Kindness Challenge and Chinese New Year AND a class pictures with the two newest additions...we have to take ANOTHER class picture when we have everyone present, so we can add our new friend :)

New Student :)We are so lucky to have ANOTHER new friend added to our class! Three new friends in three weeks! Our kiddos and I are so happy to have them. Please welcome her to our class. She is awesome and already been in TK at her old school, so she knows how it works :) Glad to have you!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, get lots of relaxation, has fun, and I'll see you Monday (our first Monday at school this month) on time and ready to learn!